MAHATMA GANDHI

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Context: The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his Jayanti at Rajghat.

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2nd October is the 153^rd birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation - Mahatma Gandhi.
Gandhi was a social reformist and leader of Indian Independence Movement who introduced the idea of nonviolent resistance called Satyagrah.
He was born in Porbandar (Gujarat)
In South Africa (1893-1915), he had successfully fought the racist regime with a novel method of mass agitation, which he called satyagraha.
The International Day of Non-Violence is observed on 2nd October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi.
He returned to India from South Africa on 9th January 1915.
In 1916 he travelled to Champaran in Bihar to inspire the peasants to struggle against the oppressive plantation system.
In 1917, he organised a satyagraha to support the peasants of the Kheda district of Gujarat. Affected by crop failure and a plague epidemic, the peasants of Kheda could not pay the revenue, and were demanding that revenue collection be relaxed.
In 1918, he went to Ahmedabad to organise a satyagraha movement amongst cotton mill workers.
In 1919, he decided to launch a nationwide satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act (1919).
At the Calcutta session of the Congress in September 1920, he convinced other leaders of the need to start a non-cooperation movement in support of Khilafat as well as for swaraj.
In February 1922, Mahatma Gandhi decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement after the Chauri-Chaura incident.
In 1930, Gandhiji declared that he would lead a march to break the salt law.
In 1931, Gandhi accepted a truce (the Gandhi-Irwin Pact), called off civil disobedience, and agreed to attend the Second Round Table Conference in London as the sole representative of the Indian National Congress.
Quit India Movement was launched in 1942 with the slogan do or die.
He worked for the upliftment of untouchables and gave them a new name 'Harijan' meaning the children of God.
He founded the Hindustani Prachar Sabha in 1942 at Wardha in Maharashtra.
Books Written: Hind Swaraj, My Experiments with Truth (Autobiography)
He was shot dead by Nathuram Godse on 30th January, 1948. 30th January is observed as Martyrs' Day.